5 Simple Ways To Practice Gratitude This Thanksgiving (Even If You Don't Feel Thankful)

Everyone tries to be more grateful during the time leading up to Thanksgiving, despite how easy it can be to slip into bitterness and cynicism. Understanding the nature of gratitude can keep us from resorting to such fear and hatred.

Know that everything is energy — even gratitude itself. Gratitude is an emotional energy with its own unique, high-vibrational frequency.

Gratitude is the recognition of the connections we share with everything: ourselves, other people, other living creatures, Mother Earth, and even material objects.

Acknowledging these bonds makes us feel like a part of a collective whole, and transfers positive energy all around. Thought creates reality, and gratitude is a thought that will help its intended target grow and feel loved. Your gratitude has the same effect whether expressed silently or aloud. Sometimes words and actions, although wonderful, are unnecessary.

If this past year has been an especially difficult one for you, acknowledge that. For those of you who have lost a loved one, it might seem impossible to feel grateful for anything this holiday. If you've recently suffered a tragedy, write a note expressing your gratitude before Thanksgiving Day that someone else can read aloud for you at the table. Your heart might be be too heavy to read it yourself, especially if you're still trying to understand what the new shape of your family looks like.

Know that your loved one isn’t really lost. They’ve simply shed their physical body and transitioned into another dimension, and they’ll more than likely be there sitting in that “empty” chair. They’re still here and real, but in a different way.

It’s okay to feel and express sadness, but don’t unpack your bags and stay there. Your loved one wants you to be happy, and he or she doesn’t want you to feel guilty for celebrating that special day.

Gratitude should not just be reserved for holidays — be sure to express it every day in some way. For example, you can write an anonymous letter of gratitude to someone: a teacher, a friend, a fire fighter. Or you can start keeping a gratitude journal to constantly remind yourself of all you have to be thankful for.